The present invention generally relates to lacrosse sticks wielded by participants in the sport of lacrosse. The present invention more particularly relates to elongated sectional handles incorporated within such lacrosse sticks and their inherent flexibility and weight characteristics.
According to convention, a lacrosse stick basically includes both an elongated handle and a head. The elongated handle, often simply referred to as the “shaft,” has both a top end and a bottom end. The head, in turn, is mounted on the top end of the elongated handle and includes both a closed-loop frame and a net suspended substantially within the confines of the frame. Together, the closed-loop frame and the net form an open pocket suited for receiving, holding, and releasing a lacrosse ball.
During play in a lacrosse game, a participant generally wields a lacrosse stick by gripping the lower elongate portion of the elongated handle with one or both hands. In doing so, a participant playing in, for example, an “attack” or “attackman” position is able to scoop up, catch, carry, pass, and make shots on goal with a ball by using the head mounted on the top end of the elongated handle. An opposing participant playing in, for example, a “defense” or “defenseman” position commonly engages and closely guards an attackman who has the ball. In doing so, the defenseman vigorously attempts to both intercept the ball and prevent the attackman from advancing the ball upfield and scoring a goal. During such engagement, sharp direct blows and indirect glancing blows are frequently inflicted at various points along the lengths of both participants” lacrosse stick handles as the defenseman, for example, stick checks the attackman.
Over time, as a lacrosse player gains experience and becomes more deft in his stick-wielding and ball-handling skills, the player typically develops strong preferences for lacrosse sticks with handles having a certain inherent stiffness/flexibility characteristic and a certain weight characteristic. Such preferences are particularly “felt” and desired in the lower elongate portion of the handle where the player grips and thereby wields the stick. In general, both the stiffness/flexibility characteristic and the weight characteristic of a particular handle are largely determined by factors including material composition, physical dimensions, and fabrication processing techniques. Given that such factors are predetermined and closely monitored by stick fabricators and manufacturers, players are informedly cognizant of the various stiffness/flexibility characteristics and weight characteristics of individual lines of lacrosse sticks that are sold at the retail level. In this way, an individual player is able to select a lacrosse stick having a handle with a stiffness/flexibility characteristic and a weight characteristic in accordance with his personal preferences.
Sometimes, however, the stiffness/flexibility characteristic of a lacrosse stick's handle is unexpectedly altered, either temporarily or permanently, by other supervening factors. For example, during play in outdoor cold weather conditions, the elongated handle is prone to becoming noticeably more stiff and less flexible than in warm weather conditions. Consequently, an experienced player may feel that his level of play is being adversely affected by the increased stiffness and reduced flexibility of the stick's handle. Under such conditions, though temporary, the player may desire a stick handle with increased flexibility, particularly in the lower elongate gripping portion, to compensate for the cold weather.
In another example, one or more severe blows inflicted upon a stick's elongated handle during engagement between players in a game may permanently damage and compromise the structural integrity of the handle at a certain point along its length. When such occurs, the lacrosse stick is essentially rendered unfit for further play, and the entire stick is typically thrown away. In some instances, however, only the entire elongated handle is thrown away if the head is deemed salvageable and can easily be removed from the handle. In either of such cases, a player generally must newly purchase an entire handle to replace the damaged one even though the original handle was only damaged at one point along its entire length.
In light of the above, there is a present need in the art for a lacrosse stick that enables a player to replace a portion of the elongated handle, either temporarily or permanently, without having to replace the entire elongated handle or lacrosse stick altogether.